This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Ashamed to be Canadian

I had to read the headline twice, I could not finish reading the article. What archaic country am I living in?

A man with a neuro-biological disorder is in essence jailed, confined to his room and allowed one shower a week? This is the only solution provided to support one of our most vulnerable citizens?

It is bad enough that 5-year-old kids with autism lost out on financial support for their treatment (cost is approximately $50,000 per year). Now we need to worry that our government will not accommodate their special needs when they hit that rip ole’ age of majority.

Article Continued Below

Today, I am ashamed to be Canadian.

Lee Shimano, Etobicoke

It is tragic and heartbreaking to read about this young man spending a year on lock-down in a psychiatric ward. It is maddening and disturbing to read that the potential for bad press can cause the government to find a solution (where one did not previously exist) in just four hours.

Sadly, there are countless adults with developmental disabilities (and their families) in crisis, waiting endlessly for support services in Ontario. There are not enough pages in your newspaper to highlight them all—if this is the only mechanism to force our government to act.

The way we care for our most vulnerable, should be a reflection of not just our government, but our society as a whole.

David Rogers, Etobicoke

Delivered dailyThe Morning Headlines Newsletter

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com